The Good Life
by Floral Summit
Summary: Barely escaping with their lives Kin, Dosu, and Zaku find refuge in Konoha. They get a taste of the good life when new friendships are formed, true love blossoms, and they finally find out where they truly belong. (CRACK FIC) (Kin X Kiba)
1. Chapter 1

I awoke with a dull pulsing throb in my head. After a few seconds, my vision cleared just enough for me to realize that I was in prison cell. A very small prison cell. Taking in my surroundings, I noticed the puddles of yellow water, iron bacteria most likely the reason for the odd discoloration. I tried not to gag, as the smell of sweat and disinfectant invaded my nostrils. My back was beginning to ache from lying on the cold, hard cement floor so I attempted to sit up, but the heavy rusted shackles on my wrists, neck, and legs prevented me from doing so. Maneuvering my body, I settled on my stomach using my elbows for support to get a better glimpse of the cell.

"Where am I?" I said to no one in particular, my voice hoarse from lack of moisture.

"Very good question, Kin." A familiar voice said.

"L-lord Orochimaru! I-I uh I..." Unable to form words I stared at his silhouette standing just beyond the steel bars. My candle lit cell prevented me from seeing his features clearly.

Orochimaru never paid personal visits to his underlings unless the end of their lives were near. Therefore, I prepared for the inevitable. Or, maybe he was her to say "hi?" No.. who am I trying to kid. Of course Orochimaru was here to kill me. I failed him. Those Konoha ninja proved to be a lot more powerful than they let on and I let myself get too cocky because of it. And now, I have to pay the ultimate price.

Orochimaru took his sweet time unlocking my door. I panicked thinking of all of the possible ways he could kill me. Will he torture me first? Kill me quickly? Or, kill me in a slow agonizing way? Yeah, that way sounded more like him, he wanted to make me suffer for as long as he could. Well which ever way he chose to end my life, I was going to prepare myself. I wasn't going to show him any fear.

The deafening screech of the unoiled hinges startled me from my thoughts. I watched as Orochimaru appeared to obtain an oil lamp out of nowhere at the entrance, he turned it on as bright as it could get and walked into my cell, brightly illuminating the room and causing me to squint my eyes.

I took note of his wardrobe. A silk white kimono with lavender accents hugged his skinny body nicely, whereas, I remained in the same clothes I participated in the Chuunin Exams in. Suddenly feeling self conscious, I redirected my eyes to the vine like cracks in the wall to my left.

"My dear girl," he said as he crouched in front of me. "Please enlighten me as to how you failed the simple mission I entrusted you with."

I gulped feeling uncharacteristically nervous. What was I supposed to say? That those Konoha freaks were too much for us? We went through years of torturous training, were physically enhanced, and we had more experience as shinobi than they did. And if those rumors I heard were true, those guys were fresh out of the academy, which made everything much worse. All things considered, there's nothing I can say to redeem myself for my failure.

"I have nothing to say Lord Orochimaru. I do not wish to waste anymore of your time by making excuses. I apologize for failing you, my lord." Giving up on any hope of survival, I bowed my head in shame. There is nothing I can do now. My time was up.

Wordlessly unlocking the shackles that bonded my body, Orochimaru elegantly stood up. "Come." He said.

With slight hesitation I did what I was told, walking only a few feet behind him. We walked for what it seemed like hours in silence past cells identical to my own. By this point, my nervousness was eating every bit of my insides. Where was he taking me? To his secret torture chamber perhaps? Or did he have a room full of hungry snakes to eat me alive? _"No no. I change my mind, I don't what to die. There's still so much I haven't done yet" _I thought to myself. Maybe just maybe I could make a run for it? Yeah. When he least expects it... But where will I go? I wouldn't be able to find the exit because everything looks exactly the same. Oh yeah, and he's some sort of powerful legendary ninja. There's no way in hell I could get away. Shit!

Without warning, Orochimaru came to a sudden stop. Thankfully I managed not run into his backside in my distracted state.

"Here is where you will stay for the night." He said holding the lamp to illuminate the closed door. "Expect my presence early tomorrow morning, we will discuss your punishment then."

"M-my punishment?" I asked, though I didn't mean to.

"Exactly, I no longer have any use for you" he smiled, "Kabuto will be here shortly to get things started for me. Until then, reflect on your failures. I'm certain there are a lot for you to think about."

Feeling my heart drop to the pit of my stomach I mindlessly walked passed the door Orochimaru held open for me. After he closed and locked the steel door, I couldn't help but stare at it. He really _was_ going to kill me. A part of me, even if it was small, hoped that he would at least forgive me and spare my life. Now I was certain of my imminent demise. Tears began forming in my eyes as I thought about how he could so easily take my life without the slightest feeling of remorse. How could he after all we've been through? How could he do something like this to me?

"The hell are you crying for, that's not going to help anything?"

I turned and looked up through my watery eyes and saw Zaku sitting in a corner, arms still wrapped in bandages.

"I'm not crying asshole!" I yelled even though I was very happy to see him. Zaku and I haven't had the greatest relationship in the world. We argued worse than a married couple and we would get into physical altercations over the smallest things. Even so, I still consider Zaku as a brother no matter the ill feelings he has towards me.

"Yelling at her isn't going to help things either." A different voice spoke up.

"Dosu?" I could barely contain my joy seeing the both of them alive, though I managed to keep a straight face. I was sure they were already dead. _"Well, at least __I have a chance at survival now__."_ I thought glady.

"We must find a way to get out of here before Orochimaru's henchman comes." Dosu has always been the mediator of the group. He was also, admittedly, the smartest one of our group, he always found a way to get us out of a sticky situation.

"Fuck off, Dosu! There's nothing we can do, were gonna fucking die here!" My eyes shifted from Dosu and landed on Zaku. Why the hell was he acting this way? Didn't he want to live?

"What the hell is wrong with you, Zaku?" I yelled. "Don't you want to get out of here?!"

No response came from him. What the hell was going on?

"...Zaku, I-" Before I had a chance to finish, Zaku interrupted me.

"Look at me, My arms are fucked up," Zaku turned to look at me with sullen eyes. "I overheard the doctors talking. I'm fucked! I'll never be of use to anyone anymore! What's the point of living now that I'm so useless again?"

Again? My heart ached upon hearing his words. Never have I seen Zaku so broken, he was always so strong willed and very confident. But now...

"I don't care whether I die or not."

I turned to Dosu for help. Was he really going to just stand there and listen to Zaku speak such nonsense?

Taking a deep breath, Dosu took a quick glance in my direction and turned his attention to Zaku.

"Zaku listen to me" Dosu said with a soft voice. I've never heard him speak so kindly to anyone before, "I realize that your condition had rendered you unable to perform even the simplest of tasks. And yes, perhaps you may no longer be able to be a shinobi, but is that a justifiable reason to abandon all hope on life?"

"For me it is..." Zaku answered barely audible

"Have you forgotten the reason why you became a shinobi?"

Zaku slowly turned his head towards Dosu but didn't answer, so Dosu decided to answer for him. "You became a shinobi because you were alone and weak. You had _no one_. No one to love you and no one to care for you. When Orochimaru approached you, you felt as if someone finally saw you as more than a failure. But now I am certain that you realize that Orochimaru _never_ saw any sort of potential in you. He saw you as nothing more than a pawn." Dosu said, without so much as missing a beat.

"Gee, thanks." Zaku said, turning his head away.

"I'm not finished. Orochimaru may not care for you..." Dosu paused and got into Zaku's line of vision. "But Kin and I certainly do. Whether you like it or not. You are our friend, and you will _always _be of use to us."

Zaku stared at Dosu. Not moving, not saying anything. After a few moments of silence tears began forming in Zaku's eyes. Just then a smack echoed in the closed room.

"Save it for later Zaku. We have to find a way out of here."

"Did you.. did you just fucking slap me you asshole?" Zaku yelled, returning to his normal self. "When we get out of here, you're gonna pay for that." Zaku smiled as he struggled to stand up. Striding over to him, I held his waist and I helped him stand up, giving him a smile of my own.

"Crippled much?" I asked knowing it'll get on his nerves

"Shut up Kin!" He yelled snatching himself away from my arms. Zaku staggered over to Dosu. His arms probably still caused him a great deal of pain.

"So.. how're we gettin' outta here?"

**I hoped you all liked the first chapter. I worked pret-ty darn hard on it, so if I left any errors behind, I would appreciate it if they were brought to my attention. So criticism is welcome. Also, if you haven't already noticed, I am making history by making this the first KibaXKin ever! They're my favorite male and female characters, so why not?! Oh, and it's rated M so hopefully you know what that means ;). And finally, depending upon this fic's popularity I plan on making this fic go from the Sasuke retrieval arc aalll the way to the war. So yeah, this is going to be long. Thanks for reading and/or reviewing!**

**-Floral Summit**


	2. Chapter 2

"Simple," Dosu said standing perfectly erect for the first time that I've seen. "We fight out way of here."

Fight our way out of here? Even though we spent years training under Orochimaru's tutelage, we are no where near as strong as this 'Kabuto' guy he spoke of earlier.

"Fight?! How the hell are we gonna fight? We have no weapons, we're low on chakra, and now, after hearing your stupid ass, we obviously have no plan!" Zaku yelled, even though his voice could probably be heard throughout the entire cell block, I nodded in agreement. From the way Orochimaru spoke his name, I could tell he thought highly of this Kabuto guy. If 'fighting our way out of here' was Dosu's only plan, there is no way we'll get out of here unscathed.

"If we work together. I guarantee everything will go our way."

"Work togethe-? Oh my fucking god! Have you lost your mind! My arms are broken and Kin can't do shit," He said nodding his head in my direction. "Which means you're fighting that Kabuto guy on your own!" Letting Zaku's stupid comment about my worth slide, I had to admit that Zaku is right. Compared to my male teammates, Im not necessarily the strongest, but that doesn't mean I can't do anything at all.

Dosu sighed, "your negativity is becoming a pain in the ass, Zaku. Please just shut up for once."

Zaku narrowed his eyes at Dosu but surprisingly kept quiet. Turing to me Dosu asked, "Kin, you still know where all of the pressure points on the human body are, don't you?" Pfft, such a stupid question, of course I do. I know each and _e__v__ery _pressure point by heart. And not to toot my own horn, but I can hit them with perfect precision with my eyes closed.

"Yeah."

"Excellent." He replied, putting his index finger and thumb on his chin. Usually that gesture meant that he was deep in thought, so I took this opportunity to look around. Unlike my previous cell, this one is _much _larger. Looking ahead, I noticed a very small, very dirty barred window with a rotting wooden panel, about six feet from the ground. Overhead on the left and right sides of the ceiling, were pipes that were years beyond the need to be replaced. And in the center of the ceiling was an exposed light bulb providing very little light, swaying slightly by a short cord. Behind me, a large steel door with multiple lock mechanisms.

I watched as Dosu walked over to the tiny window and inspected its wooden panel. I wonder if he's going to use it as some sort of weapon? Hmm, I should ask. "Hey Dosu wh-?

Of course Zaku interrupted me. Obvious by now that he can't keep quiet for more than five minutes, I let him have his way. "What are you doing Dosu? None of us can fit through that window?"

"I _know _that Zaku. Shut up!" Zaku 'humphed' at sat crisscrossed where he stood, grumbling something that sounded a lot like 'you shut up.'

Smiling a little at Zaku's childishness, I decided to sit down as well. Although I had been unconscious I felt as if I hadn't slept in days, but I refused to close my eyes in case something unexpected happened. With Orochimaru and Kabuto out for our lives, all of us had to be alert and as focused as possible. After a few minutes of silence, I heard Dosu whisper "ahh, here we are" more so to himself than anyone else. I watched him as he inched his face closer to the lower left corner of the window panel, and wondered what he could possibly be doing as he promptly removed his forehead protector.

Seeing Dosu's forehead protector reflect the dim light to the opposite side of the room as it sat on the old windowpane reminded me of my own. I wore this symbolic piece of head ware daily, never had I gone anywhere without it. It is as if it had become apart of me. This moment also made me realize that forehead protectors are worn by shinobi who take pride in their village, and for those who are willing to die for it. I don't deserve to wear this headband anymore. Or much rather, this headband doesn't deserve to be worn by me. I don't want to die for this village and I sure as hell don't take pride in it anymore. Once I get out of here, I'm putting this pathetic place behind me. With that, I reached underneath my long mane and untied my forehead protector and let it drop to the floor, allowing the metallic clank to echo the room.

Dosu turned his head towards the sound, then briefly looked up to me before resuming his task at the window. Zaku leaned to his left buttock in an attempt to see what that sound was. "I removed my headband." I told him before he could ask. "You should remove yours too." I knew he wasn't able to on his own. I just like getting on his nerves.

"Fuck you Kin." I smiled at his words and crawled over to him, not caring that I dirtied my hands and knees in the process. I sat in front of him and roughly snatched his headband off of his head and calmly sat it in his lap "You're welcome." I said satisfied, knowing that the smallest things I did irritated the hell out of Zaku. I stood up ignoring any possible insults Zaku had for me and walked over to Dosu.

Once there, I peered over Dosu's shoulder, curious as to what he was doing but also trying not to disturb him. I noticed that Dosu was using the metal part of his headband to chip away at the wood surrounding a large nail. I hope he wasn't planning on using that measly thing as a weapon. It'll be totally ineffective against Kabuto.

"What are you doing Dosu?" I decided to ask.

He ignored me and continued chipping away at the wood. Feeling slightly annoyed at being ignored, I crossed my arms and shifted my weight onto my left leg and stared at his back, losing interest in what he was doing with every passing second. Then hearing Dosu give what sounded like a sigh in relief, I peaked over his shoulder just as he uncaringly tossed his headband to the ground and began to pry a rusty nail that was only but an inch or so exposed out of the wall with his fingers. I grimaced as I watched him struggle to remove the object and cutting the flesh of his index finger. Finally, with one last tug, the nail was free.

Dosu twirled the three and a half inch nail in his bloodied fingers and gave it a nod of approval.

"Alright. Kabuto could come any minute now." Dosu said suddenly turning around, making me jump back a few feet due to being startled. "We're going to get out of here alive, however in order to do that. I need the both of you to listen closely." Zaku and I gave a nod.

He smirked under his mask and said, "here's what were going to do."

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My heart jumped into my throat upon hearing the door unlock. I took one last look at my teammates, each of us sitting in different corners of the cell. Dosu and Zaku were sitting in the corners adjacent to the window. I was sitting in a corner on the opposite side of the room facing both of my teammates. My position was the most important because when the door opened, I would be hidden behind it.

When the door opened, my breathing accelerated. It's now or never, I can't fail them.

"Well well well." The white haired male I assumed was Kabuto said. He had the same oil lamp Orochimaru had earlier, he held it up and illuminated Zaku and Dosu in their corners "you aren't sitting near one another? Are you upset at each other about your failures during your simple mission?" He chuckled and walked further into the room, leaving the door slightly open.

Zaku spoke up, "so you must be Kabuto right? You're here to kill us?"

Chuckling again, Kabuto sat the lamp down "No I'm not here to kill you. Lord Orochimaru is going to do that. I'm just here to pay you back from when you idiots broke my glasses during the first exam."

With each passing moment, I became more and more nervous. I silently pulled my knees up to my chest and hugged them tightly. _"Oh god, oh god, oh god. When is Dosu going to give me the signal? I__f__ he doesn't do it soon, I'll-"_

My thoughts were interrupted when I saw Dosu kick his sandle off towards the ceiling and destroy the light, then using his other foot, he attempted to knock Kabuto off balance with a foot sweep. _"My signal!"_ I thought.

Kabuto skillfully dodged Dosu's simple move and landed a few feet in front of me. Now was my chance! With speed that I'll probably never be able to match again, I drove the rusted nail into a pressure point in Kabuto's left thigh.

"Argh!" He yelled and fell onto the floor clutching his leg "you bitch!"

Using the ribbon from my hair as planned, I sat on top of Kabuto's back and wrapped it around his mouth to silence him.

"Dosu!" I yelled. My heart was racing like crazy. Never have I been so scared in my life.

Dosu rushed towards me removing the stash around his waist and expertly tied Kabuto's hands behind his back. Kabuto struggled to get free, but fortunately he couldn't due to the temporary paralyzing of his left leg.

"Kin, finish your part." Dosu said grabbing the ring of keys from Kabuto's belt.

Oh that's right. I almost forgot. I snatched the bloody nail from Kabuto's leg and jabbed it into his right arm, paralyzing it.

"Good, now he won't be able to escape from these confines for a while" Dosu said.

Getting off of Kabuto's back, I brisked towards Zaku to help him stand up before the final part of our plan was initiated. Together we walked out of the cell and watched as Dosu gathered all of our headbands and removed his robe throwing them into a pile.

Giving Kabuto one last look, Dosu kicked the oil lamp over, setting his clothing and our headbands ablaze. The oil burned quickly, Dosu hurried out of the room and closed the steel door behind him, locking it.

Kabuto's muffled yells could be heard as the three of us ran down the very hallway I remembered walking through with Orochimaru.

"Now that the hard part's done what are we gonna do now?" Zaku asked with a surprisingly low voice.

"Now... we find an exit." Dosu answered. I stared at Dosu's back as he walked ahead of Zaku and me. I couldn't help but smile. He really did it. He got us out of that terrible situation. I am so grateful to have met him. Without him I would've been dead a long time ago.

"Dosu..?"

"Yes Kin?"

"Thanks... for everything."

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"We've been wandering around this place for hours." Zaku said lagging behind

"No, we've been walking for no more than thirty minutes Zaku." I answered. Well, it does seem like we've been walking for hours, I guess that's because we kept running into dead ends. It's like this prison is some kind of maze. I sighed feeling somewhat dejected. All of that hard work meant nothing if we were trapped in this prison and Orochimaru could easily find us. I shuddered at the thought of what he would do to us once he found it what we did to his beloved henchman.

"Dosu, this prison is like a maze of some sort. We'll never be able to find our way out of here," I said for some reason avoiding eye contact with him.

Dosu gasped suddenly "...a maze." He placed his hand on the right wall "I know how we can get out of here."

"Really how?!" Zaku yelled. Sigh. Really, again with the yelling?

"Lower your voice Zaku... and to answer your question, all we need to due is follow the right wall. Doing so will lead us to either an entrance or an exit. Both will lead to our freedom." Dosu said.

"How do you know which one is the right wall? " Zaku asked.

Dosu stared at Zaku as if waiting for him to say that he was joking. When those words didn't come, he answered."...the wall on the right hand side Zaku."

"Oh... well Kin didn't get it so I asked for her."

"What?!" I unintentionally shrieked.

"Keep your voices down." Dosu said

"Sorry" I whispered. I placed my hand on the wall to the right of me and followed Dosu, Zaku following close behind.

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Surprisingly enough no one pursued us and after an hour or so we managed to find the exit.

"Wow, I cant believe we're alive!" I said laughing. I rolled on the forest ground as happy as I've ever been before.

"So... where are we going to go from here?" I sat up as Zaku asked the dreaded question. I felt tears well up in eyes for the second time today, thinking about how we may go separate ways. When I first met them, yeah, I would've loved the opportunity to leave them behind. But now, after all we've been through. I don't ever want them to leave my side.

All of us remained silent, not sure of what to say. So... I decided to speak up.

"Uh well, I recognize the forest were in. We're near the Village Hidden in the Leaves..." I don't know why I feel so nervous all of a sudden. Maybe I'm worried about what they'll think.

"Everyone we met there deeply cared for one another and they looked very happy in each others company. I want that. So, I was going to try to make amends and live there." I looked up to see Dosu and Zaku looking at each other with skeptical look on their faces. Oh no, with the look they're giving each other it's obvious that they don't want to go. Maybe I should leave it at that and hope that they'll follow me. No, Dosu is way too stubborn and Zaku is an idiot. They won't go to the Village on their own.

"Well Kin, don't you want to ask us something?" Zaku said taunting me in a sing song voice.

Giving Zaku a look that could kill him in ten different ways if it were possible, I took a deep breath and did the unthinkable. "Will you guys come with me?"

Silence followed my question rather than an answer. I stared at the both of them, hoping, praying that they would come with me. Dosu turned his head from me and said. "What are we waiting for? Let's go to the Village Hidden in the Leaves."

"Yes!" I yelled pumping my fist in the air. I quickly stood up and gave them both the biggest and only hugs they'll ever get from me, surprisingly enough they hugged me back. Giggling, I forced myself out of the group hug and hopped into the trees with my two best friends following close behind.

I couldn't help but outright laugh at this point. We were finally free of that monster we gave our lives to. Now I can express myself with laughter as much as I wanted to, I no longer need to be the serious, boring girl I once was. I looked over my shoulder to see if Dosu and Zaku were still following me and sure enough they were, however both of them were staring off into space, oblivious to my joy.

Whistling to get their attention I yelled, "Once we reach Konoha guys, we won't have to worry about anything else ever again. Because from then on, we'll be living the good life." I smiled and raced through the trees as fast as I could to finally reach our well deserved nirvana.

**Whew, I finished this at 2:30 in the morning. I'm really tired ,so if there are any mistakes please let me know. Also, I apologize if their way of getting out of the prison was a little... uneventful. Making Kin say that everything looked the same in the first chapter was a mistake on my part. I didn't know how to get them out otherwise, so making the prison a maze and using the "right wall" method was my only option. And plus, I couldn't think of anything else. So... yeah. Leave a review or fav if you want. Next chapter should be up by tomorrow or Saturday! Thanks for reading!**

**-Floral Summit**


	3. Chapter 3

**First I would like to thank "drewdloodles," "sco23," and "chanceoutof20." Like seriously, you guys are freakin' epic. Thanks so much.**

The closer and closer we got to Konoha the more elated I became. No longer will we have to fight for our survival just to get breakfast in the morning. No longer will we endure the mental stress of always trying to impress our mentor, or should I say, ex mentor. And no longer will we have to spend birthdays and holidays alone, we will finally have someone special to share them with. Oh, yes. I definitely can't wait.

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"I regret to inform you, but I am going to have to refuse your request." The elderly man said. Placing his pipe back into his mouth.

Dosu, Zaku and I have been standing before the great Hokage, telling him our story and trying to convince him to allow us to stay in the village for an hour now. So far it wasn't working out.

"But sir, you don't understan-" Dosu said. Trying to negotiate.

I balled my fists behind my back, anger eating away my previously joyous emotion. No, this isn't fair! This was supposed to be my chance for a better life. _Our_ chance for a better life. Why doesn't he understand that we were blindly following Orochimaru's orders for the sake of finding where we belong?

"Do not try to tell me what I don't understand young man." The wise man placed his pipe in a mahogany stand and rested his chin on laced his fingers.

"I _understand_ that you came to my village under the directive of an S-class enemy shinobi to take the life of Uchiha, Sasuke. What I will admit I don't understand is what gave you three the idea that I would allow you to reside within my village after all of the trouble you've caused."

Dosu silently stared at the Hokage. He didn't give up did he? Didn't he have anymore to say? Dosu was supposed to be the smart one. And though, self-appointed, he was our team leader, he was supposed to be able to solve any, if not all of our problems. This just couldn't be all he could do.

"Lord Hokage. Please I-" Dosu pleaded. His voice was monotonous just as it always is, but the sadness in his voice wasn't hard to miss.

"My answer will not change, I apologize." Lord Third interrupted. "Now please exit my office."

Dosu quickly turned in a huff past Zaku and I without looking either of us in the eyes; it didn't matter though, I wouldn't have made eye contact with him anyway. I felt guilty for dragging them here and getting their hopes up. And now, for the third time that day, tears welled in my eyes.

"Lord third!" A merry voice said.

Looking at the window to my left, I saw an old, strange looking, white haired man entering the Hokage's chamber, right leg first.

"What the hell?" Zaku whispered to me. 'What the hell' is right. Is this a normal thing? I looked in the Hokage's direction; he didn't seem to mind at all. Okay... this is weird.

"I am busy at the moment, Jiraiya. Please come back at another time." Oh, so Jiraiya is his name.

"Oh?" Jiraiya said with curiosity. Upon fully entering the Hokage's room, the white haired man placed his hand on his chin and inspected the three of us. His eyes seemed to linger on me the longest. Instinctively, I covered my chest and turned my shoulder towards him Giving him the nastiest scowl I could muster.

"I don't recognize them" Jiraiya turned to the Hokage "Do they have any special business here?" He said either not noticing the look on my face or ignoring it completely.

"You could say that, they were requesting that I allow them to live in the village despite what they tried to do during the chuunin exams"

"What'd they try to do?"

With Jiraiya listening intently, the third Hokage told him our story: our affiliation with Orochimaru, our reason for participating in the chuunin exams, the failure of our mission, and finally, our escape

Jiraiya nodded his head and sighed. "Lord third, you know as well as I, how manipulating Orochimaru can be. He more than likely filled these children's heads with nonsense." I stared at the strange man. How well did he know Orochimaru, I wonder? He seemed to be the about the same age, so could they have been allies in the past? Because what he just said was true. Orochimaru promised us things that were obviously a lie. If he hadn't been so convincing, I wouldn't have joined that snake in the first place.

The Hokage remained silent, picking up his pipe from the stand and placing it into his mouth.

"They've been though a lot. Please allow them to stay within the village," Jiraiya continued, he opened his arms wide and smiled "and if it makes you feel any better, I can keep an eye on them to calm your uneasiness. How does that sound?"

The Hokage closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. Upon opening his eyes again he said "alright, I will allow you to remain within the village's walls to gain our trust. However, if I or anyone else feel that you are up to no good. You _will _face the consequences, and I will personally ensure that there is _no _escaping."

I looked and smiled at Jiraiya feeling terrible about the look I gave to him earlier. Is this really how kind Konoha shinobi are? This man knew nothing about us, yet he was willing to lend us a hand. I hope I will get to know this man in the future a little better.

"We will discuss your living arrangements later. Meet in this room a few hours from now. I haven't the time now because I must prepare for the final phase of the chuunin exams of which are resuming in the next twenty-two days. I'm sure you already know that." Feeling a little awkward at that comment the three of his shifted our weight and avoided making eye contact with the powerful shinobi.

"Oh yeah, speaking of that. Today, I met a young boy by the name of Naru-"

"You may leave now." The Hokage said interrupting Jiraiya, "just know that you will always be watched until I can trust you three."

"Y-yes sir. Thank you so much." I voiced for the first time since meeting the Hokage.

Giving a bow and a 'thank you' to Jiraiya, we hastily left the room.

"He's just gonna let us freely roam the village?" Zaku asked.

"Not necessarily, we _are_ being watched. Most likely by Anbu." Dosu answered his question.

No longer paying attention to the two males. I dreamed of all of the things I could in my new home. I could window shop, which for some reason is popular among girls my age. Or I could walk through that park I saw the first time I came here and sit by that beautiful pond. Being that I have not a cent to my name, those seem to be my only options.

Suddenly stopping in front of Dosu and Zaku I said "I want to explore the village on my own for a while. Can we meet here in two hours?"

Briefly looking at each other, they turned to me, "So? Why are you telling us, we aren't your babysitters Kin." Zaku said.

"I was just letting you know, jerk" I said turning my back and walking out of the building.

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As I walked through the village I noticed how carefree everyone was. No one seemed to have a worry in the world as they brushed passed each other with small 'hellos' every now and again.

However, I was a different story. I was walking for maybe ten minutes now and I still haven't found that park or any vendors for that matter. Not to mention that I actually felt pretty lonely without Dosu or Zaku around.

Giving up and collapsing on my bum. My should arms slumped as I whined to no one of my predicament..

"You're lost you say?" A voice said behind me.

Quickly turning to the voice, my eyes landed on a boy that I sort of recognized.

"You're lost?" He asked again, "I can help you find where you need to go." He said smiling, his small dog seeming to bark in agreement.

Oh yeah, the boy with the dog. I saw him only once, hmm maybe twice, during the chuunin exams.

"U-uh yeah. I am." Doesn't he recognize me? Seeing how Sasuke and that Sakura girl graduated with this guy, he has to at least know of me and what I did. I mean that _is_ what friends do, right? Talk about their lives with each other?

"Alright. Where you headed?" He asked as I stood up.

"Uh well, I kinda wanted to do a little window shopping." I said embarrassed. He just stared at me for a while. Most likely thinking that I am the biggest loser he has ever met.

The boy chuckled, "yeah you're way off. Follow me."

Shrugging off my negative thoughts, I followed the boy and his dog in silence. Curious, I took a long sideways glance to take in his features. Well he is cute I guess, but you really can't tell with his jacket covering almost everything.

"So...?" He said breaking the silence, "I haven't seen you around, you here to watch the final part of the chuunin exams?" So this guy really didn't recognize me. Or either he has terrible observation skills, bad memory, or Sasuke and Sakura didn't tell him about me.

Not really wanting to explain why I'm here, "Yeah, I am."

"Cool." The boy answered, "My name's Kiba by the way. What's yours?"

Looking at my guide, and hopefully new friend. I smiled and answered his question. "Kin. My name is Kin."

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"You've been going at this for hours and you haven't bought anything!" Kiba jokingly yelled. I just smiled, having the time of my life right now.

Kiba and I have been going from vendor to vendor and shop to shop looking at all of their merchandise.

"I don't have any money." I said absentmindedly.

"No money?" He questioned, "why would you go to another village without any money?"

Realizing my mistake, I turned my back towards him to come up with a lie. But my mind became jumbled and I couldn't think of anything believable to tell him, so I just stared at the ground.

"Uh, sorry I didn't mean to pry or anything. I just thought it was a little weird." After his apology I turned back to him and put a fake smile on my face. Should I tell him my situation? No, that'll scare him away. What should I do?

"Its okay, you didn't pry." I said looking Kiba in his eyes.

"Okay, that's good.. so why don't you have any money then?" he asked, oblivious to the fact that I was getting uncomfortable Doesn't this guy know not to ask personal questions upon meeting someone new?

"I didn't exactly have any to begin with," I said resigning. "You see, uh, my teammates and I just came to this village several hours ago after... um, deciding to leave our previous one."

"Why'd you leave?" Wow, this guy is nosy. Well, that's what I get for opening my mouth in the first place.

"It's a long story-" I began

"I've got the time." He said smiling, "when I first came across you. You looked like you needed someone to talk to."

I smiled. Yeah I really did need someone to talk to. "Okay here's what happened."

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"Wow, all of that happened to you?" He asked. Right now Kiba and I were sitting at the pond I wanted to sit by and eating the ice cream cones he bought for us. Mine being chocolate and his vanilla, I've never had ice cream before so this stuff tastes like heaven.

"Yeah," He was being surprisingly calm about it all.

"Whoa, well at least you're safe now." Kiba said. "I promise nothing will happen to you so long as I'm around."

I smiled for the millionth time in Kiba's company. He's made me smile in the past few hours more than I've smiled in the past few year. Wait a second...few hours? Oh god! I was supposed to meet Zaku and Dosu hours ago! They're probably pissed by now.

"Uh, I'm sorry Kiba. But I have to go." I said standing up, finishing up my sugar cone.

"Go? Go where?" He asked, standing up himself.

"I told Zaku and Dosu to meet me at the Hokage's tower hours ago. They really don't like being kept waiting." Like I cared though. I just wanted to see where we're going to live.

"Okay, I'll show you the way there. Come on Akamaru."

I watched as Akamaru came running out of nowhere and jumped into Kiba's jacket, giving his chin a few licks after voicing a single bark.

"All right Kin. Lets get going." Kiba said walking off.

"Kay!" I called, giving the pond one last look

Catching up to him, we gave each other a smile and headed towards my destination.

**Hey Hey Hey! Chapter three is up and running. So, yesterday I noticed that I said that I was goign to post a new chapter, "either tomorrow or Saturday," not realizing that it was Friday... ehehe, sorry about that. So to keep my word, I posted a new chapter tomorrow and Saturday! Leave a review, it'll be greatly appreciated! Thanks for taking the time out of your day to read my work!**

**-Floral Summit**


	4. Chapter 4

Kiba and I laughed and talked the entire way. He told me stories about how strict his mom is, how his sister picked on him a lot, and the time he first met Akamaru. I didn't have any stories of my own, but how lively Kiba kept the conversation; it didn't matter.

"Welp, here we are." Kiba said, folding his arms behind his head.

"Thanks Kiba." I said quietly

"No problem.." He paused. It seemed like he wanted to say something else, but I didn't have the time to wait around, so after giving Kiba a slight wave, I turned heel and walked towards the door.

"Uh, wait Kin." I stopped. My heart pounded at the sound of my name. I smiled and turned around, as Kiba walked to me. "Do you wanna hang out tomorrow evening? I can introduce you to all of my friends." He asked.

The smile I had on my face earlier completely disappeared after hearing his question. I _really_ don't want to meet his friends, because more likely than not Sakura, Sasuke and that blonde girl and her team are apart of his social group, and I don't want them to make a fool of me in front of them.

"Um no Kiba I don't thi-" Kiba interrupted me.

"You don't have to worry about anything. I'll pay." He smiled. I gave an exasperated sigh. Idiot, that wasn't the problem. I can get money if I wanted to. I'm just not ready to meet his friends right now.

"Kiba I really don-" He interrupted me again this time putting his hands on my shoulders and slightly shaking me.

"Come on. You'll have a great ti-ime." He said the last part in a sing-songy voice.

"Fine." I said. Staring at his feet. His closeness made me feel awkward considering I just met him not to long ago. Not only that, but I can't believe I gave into someone. This village is changing me faster than I thought.

Giving me two pats on the cheek, he chuckled and ran off, "great! Meet me here tomorrow at six o'clock, got it? See you later Kin!" he called behind him.

Chuckling to myself I walked into the Hokage tower, and immediately changed my happy mood to that of a sour one. I didn't want Dosu or Zaku learning about my new friend just yet.

"Where the hell have you been? You're three hours late, Kin! Three hours!" Zaku yelled at me from his spot in the burgundy chair next to a beautiful pot of violet flowers.

"Lower your voice Zaku, the Hokage isn't ready for us at the moment anyway." Dosu spoke up. "Though, that is no excuse to keep us waiting for you for three hours. Be on time next time."

"Yeah yeah, whatever." I said waving my right hand in front of my face. "It's not like you guys were doing anything anyway."

"That's not the point Kin!" Zaku said standing up, purple flower petals falling from his lap.

"Why'd you pick off the flower petals, dumbass?!" I yelled pointing my finger in his face "we're trying to make a good impression, and you go off and destroy the Hokage's flowers?!"

"Good impression?" Zaku scoffed, "says the girl slutting off with some guy. Yeah we saw." How dare he speak of me that way. I'm going to beat the shit out of him for saying that.

"Excuse me. The Hokage is ready for you now." A young woman said.

My fist stopped midair after hearing her voice. I turned to the woman and noticed the clothing she was wearing: a plain white loose fitting shirt tucked into and overly long navy blue skirt, and she wore her leaf headband as a belt.

"Finally!" Zaku said under his breath, rudely brushing past me to the woman.

The young woman guided us to a different room than the one we first met the Hokage in. Upon entering, I noticed the lack of electrical lighting and the use of many candles. It looked like some sort of seance was going on. The Hokage was sitting behind a small desk with seemingly endless scrolls clustered around him.

"The three you requested are here now milord." The woman said in a soft voice after knocking on the opened door.

"Thank you very much." The Hokage said taking a puff from his pipe. After the door was closed the Hokage began, "now to discuss where you will be living."

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Dosu, Zaku, and I were now walking to the apartment that the Hokage gave to us. He said that it wasn't the best, but the three bedroom apartment should suit us just fine for the time being. He also made arrangements so that we wouldn't have to pay rent for six months, which was fantastic.

Once we arrived at the apartment complex I did my usual once over and looked exterior and noted that it didn't look so bad. In fact, it looked pretty good. The flowers and beauty bark on the outside of the building gave an inviting vibe, and the structure itself looked pretty well taken care of. I liked it. I liked it a lot.

"This place looks pretty nice." Zaku spoke up

"I know, I can't wait to see what the inside looks like." I said

Nine flight of stairs and five doors down the hallway later, we arrived to our new apartment. Dosu used the only key given to us to open the door. We would have to get others made later.

On the inside our apartment was really nice, why the Hokage downplayed it was beyond me. In the living area there was a small coffee table placed in front of a three seated navy blue couch, Bonsai plants sat on the side tables on either side of it. Scanning the rest of the room I saw that there was a bookshelf next to sliding door on the left wall, but I wasn't sure what it led to yet. Moving to the kitchen, we had a large refrigerator in between dark gray quartz counter tops. And a rice cooker sat to the right of a shiny sink. On the opposite side of the kitchen was a door, upon opening it there was a dryer and a washer. With a shelf to store laundry detergents and such. We went back into the living area to explore where that sliding door led to. Not surprising, the door led to a hallway which consisted on our bedrooms two doors on the left wall and three on the right.

"I get first dibs on rooms." Zaku said excitedly and rudely pushed me out of the way.

Zaku opened the last door on the right and it turned out to be a bathroom.

"Shit!" Zaku yelled as he attempted to go into the first room on the right wall; the one I had already chosen.

"Hah, I get this room." I told him closing the door in his face.

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It was the next day, and I started to worry about my meet up with Kiba, but that wasn't the only that worried me. I also haven't told Dosu or Zaku about it, when I do eventually tell them I just hope they don't make a big deal out of it.

I lazed in bed for about an hour after I woke up, coming up with different ways to tell them my plans for the evening. Groaning I sat up in my bed and stretched, Satisfied with what I had come up with. My room consisted of a queen size bed with a two drawer side table and a lamp sitting on top of it. And.. that was pretty much it. I guess it was up to me to decorate it a little more.

I got out of my bed and walked into the hallway closing the door behind me and glanced at the clock above the sliding door. It was midday, I guess I stayed in my room longer than I though. I sighed, I sure hope Dosu is at least awake, I don't want to disturb him in his bedroom. I took a deep breath and feigned my tiredness in case anyone was awake before sliding the door open. The first thing I saw was Dosu sitting on the couch reading a book.

"Good morning Dosu." I said. He looked up to me.

"Good_ afternoon, _Kin." He said with emphasis on 'afternoon' "How was your sleep?"

That's nice of him to ask. "It was great.. Did you sleep in?." I asked trying to start a conversation to ease my way into what I was actually there for.

"I'm a morning person. I don't like to sleep in."

"Oh okay." Feeling a little awkward. I stood in front of Dosu in silence.

"Do you need anything?" He said looking up from his book.

"Not necessarily, uh, I just wanted to know where you got that book from." I said inwardly kicking myself for suck a stupid question.

Dosu stared at me before answering, "there is a book shelf over there." He said pointing to the neatly shelved books next to he sliding door that led to our rooms.

"Oh, I didn't even notice that," I lied.

"Seriously, Kin. Either say what you need to or leave me alone." Dosu said looking sternly into my eyes.

"I just wanted to let you know that I was going to hang out with a friend today. So I won't be able to go shopping with you guys."

"A friend?" Dosu asked setting his book down on his lap Keeping his finger between the pages.

"Yeah, I met someone yesterday and he invited me to meet his friends." Why did I have to explain myself to him? He wasn't my father or anything.

"Humph, whatever. Just know that you can't complain if Zaku or I get something you aren't fond of." He said, resuming his page in the red book. What could they possible get that I'll complain about? Whatever, I think about that later.

"I won't. But, I'm going to use some of the money the Hokage gave us to shop for some clothes though." I said sitting in the seat next to him. The Hokage gave us a generous amount of money, with prodding form Jiraiya of course, to buy typical necessities for our home.

Dosu sighed, annoyed with my presence by now. "Alright , just don't take too much."

I smiled, "thanks Dosu."

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Somehow I managed to find a pretty fair priced clothing store. Unfortunately, I had no idea what I was doing. I really liked the way lavender looked on me, but I didn't want to be reminded about the past, so that color was out for now. I looked over he racks maybe three times over, and still unsatisfied with what I saw.

Completely giving up on this particular rack of clothing I moved to another one. There, I heard a few girls giggling and pointing their fingers at me. Suddenly I felt as if I was the ugliest girl there and now I wanted to get out as fast as I could.

Feeling too embarrassed to ask for help, I randomly grabbed a long forest green colored shirt and dark gray knee length running pants*, with matching gray shoes and headed out the door after paying.

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Okay it's 5:51, Kiba should be here in nine minutes. I looked down at my outfit and began to worry. I hoped he liked it... wait what am I saying? Why does it matter to me if he liked my outfit, pfft? I don't even care what Dosu and Zaku think about what I wear, so why do I care what he thinks?

"Hey Kin, you're here early." He said. Wow, Kiba looked really nice. He wore a red dress shirt with black slacks. Pretty simple, but on him it looked wonderful.

I couldn't help but to blush so I looked away to prevent him from noticing. "Hi Kiba, you look nice."

"Thanks, so do you. Even better I should say." Oh god, he complimented me. My heart started to beat faster and my breathing accelerated. A gulped to prevent the butterflies in my stomach from flying out of my mouth.

"Come on. Let's go, they're already there waiting for us." Kiba said touching my shoulder and turning me around.

Kiba and I walked in comfortable silence to a restaurant that he referred to as the 'nicest place in Konoha.' He told me that they had a huge selection of food and there's no way that I wouldn't like it.

After few minutes of walking, we came up to the restaurant Kiba talked about, he held the door opened for me and stopped at the receptionist to discuss our reservations. I looked around hoping to spot his friends before they spotted me to prepare myself. But before I could get a good look, Kiba tapped my shoulder to get my attention. "Let's go get seated."

"Alright."

I followed Kiba as he zig-zagged through the tables to the back of the restaurant. I looked at the meals the patrons were eating. Yum, a lot of the food did look really good. I think I going to order some Donburi with some Onigiri on the side, or maybe some Tonkatsu. Even a simple bowl of Ramen will do actually.

"Hey guys!" Kiba yelled as he high fived Sakura's blonde friend, I forgot his name. Taking a deep breath, I counted to ten to calm my nerves and side-stepped from behind Kiba and into their view.

"Oh, guys this is Kin. Kin this is...uh, the guys." Kiba said smiling placing his hand in the small of my back to push me closer to their table.

"H-hello." Dammit, I stuttered. I don't want any of them to think that I'm intimidated. I can't show any kind of weakness to these guys.

Rather than saying 'hi' like a civilized person would do. "Hey, you're the bitch that tried to kill Sasuke-kun with your crazy friends." The Ino girl yelled pointing her disgusting finger in my face.

"What the hell is wrong with you Ino?!" Kiba yelled right back pushing me behind him.

"She's our enemy Kiba! How could you bring her around us!" This time Sakura joined in. She quickly stood up and rounded the table to stand in front of Kiba. "She works for an S-class enemy named Orochimaru, she's nothing but scum!" I looked at the legs of the table adjacent to theirs. I knew that this was going to happen. I shouldn't have come. But for whatever reason something or someone inside of me told me to anyway. Now I'm regretting it.

"Will you shut up Sakura! Why can't you give her a chance, you don't know what she's been through. She doesn't work for that asshole anymore. Trust me." Kiba said subtly referring to what I told him in the park.

This was getting out of had, I looked around. Our table had drawn the attention of everyone in the restaurant, if this continued, we would be kicked out. And of course the blame will be placed on me.

"No Kiba, trust _me_. I know them. She can't be trusted." Sasuke spoke this time staring daggers at me.

"She isn't working for him anymore!" Kiba roared even louder than everyone else. I can tell by the way he clenched his fist that his anger was rising by the second. How can I defuse the situation?

Sasuke scoffed unaffected by the volume of Kiba's voice. "If she isn't working for him. Then something must've happened to cause him to abandon her and her team. And from what I've gathered in fighting him as well, he wouldn't have let her live. Meaning, she ran like a coward. Even if she did change her ways, she would be just as useless in this village as she was with Orochimaru. We have no room for a useless cowardly ninja."

Sasuke's harsh words hit me like a ton of bricks. Every memory of being told how weak and worthless I was came flooding into my mind, causing tears welled up in my eyes. I won't stand here any longer and allow Sasuke to degrade me in front of the whole restaurant.

"I knew this wasn't a good idea. I'm sorry Kiba." I tried to say without my voice cracking but failed miserably.

I quickly turned around with the intention of walking out of the restaurant without bringing anymore attention on me than there already was, but something grabbed my arm and prevented me from doing so. I looked over my shoulder after wiping a tear away and saw a very sympathetic look on Kiba's face.

"I am so sorry Kin. I didn't know that they would react this way. I'm sorry." Kiba said pulling me in for a hug. He was so warm. I wrapped my arms around his shoulder blades to take in as much of his warmth as I could. I definitely needed it. "If you want we can still eat. We could go to the other end of the restaurant, or a completely different one. Or if you just wanna go home, I can walk you." Kiba was so sweet to me. He is the kindness human being I have ever met, I don't deserve his kindness.

"Well, I am kinda hungry." I told him with a small smile. "I wanna try the Tonkatsu here, it looks good." Kiba turned around and gave his friends a look of disgust and said, "I can't believe that you guys didn't even give her a chance. If I can see the good in her than you should at least try to. See you guys later."

Kiba's friends stayed silent and watched us as we chose a table on the opposite side of the restaurant.

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"I didn't mean to make you choose me over your friends Kiba. I'm sorry." I said changing the subject of the conversation about Kiba's past missions.

"No you didn't do anything. Don't worry about it, really Kin. It's fine." Kiba said stuffing his mouth with pieces of chicken.

As we ate, for whatever reason my eyes wandered over to the direction where Kiba's friends were and my heart quickened as I noticed all of them coming towards our table. Well, wen_are_ by the door maybe they're leaving.

"Hey uh, Kiba?" I spoke too soon.

"Kiba?" Sakura asked again. Finally giving them his attention, Kiba stopped eating his meal and placed his chin on his hand and looked at Sakura. "Huh?"

"We're really sorry for the way we acted. I-it wasn't right." Sakura said looking down. The others all nodding their heads in agreement.

"Don't apologize to me." Kiba said pointing in my direction, "apologize to her."

Each of them, except Sasuke of course, turned their heads to me and simultaneously but quietly apologize "We are really sorry Kin. I guess we still had ill feelings toward you from the chuunin exams." Sakura said.

"Yeah, we jumped to conclusions, and we're really sorry for that." Ino said this time. It was really nice of them to apologize, I appreciate it. But right now I'm having a good time alone with Kiba and I don't want us to be bothered.

Smiling, I shrugged my shoulders and said, "it's okay. Thanks for apologizing."

"Mind of we sit down?" Ino asked, pointing to the table behind us.

Kiba looked at me and I just shrugged my shoulders again, "Sure." Kiba answered for the both of us. Kiba stood up from his seat a me pulled out another as he gestured for me to sit next to him. Once I sat down Sakura, Ino, and Naruto joined two nearby tables with ours. And they all sat, ordering desserts as Kiba and I were finishing up our main course.

I was having a great time hearing everyone reminiscing about their days at the academy. The only problem was that I had this weird feeling in my gut that something was going to go wrong. Maybe I'm being paranoid but something always happens when I'm having fun, so I have reason to believe that it's bound to happen before the night is over.

"Oh yeah and remember that time when you and Sasuke kissed, Naruto? Now that was hilarious!" Chouji said with a mouthful of pork.

A familiar chuckle was heard coming from behind me "you're right fat ass that was funny."

**Chapter four is up and I hope you enjoyed it. Also, if you have the time, leave a review. Remember criticism is welcome. Anyway, thanks for reading!**

**-Floral Summit**


	5. Chapter 5

"What the hell, Zaku?!" I hollered. He glared at me but said nothing. Who the hell does this asshole think he is? Doesn't he realize that we're suppose to get the Konoha shinobi and citizens to trust us to be able to permanently reside here? Yet here he is causing trouble.

"I'm trying to get to know a few people, just as you are Kin." He finally spoke, giving me a mocking smile.

"Calling people names isn't the ideal way of getting to know others." Kiba retorted. He was standing in front of a very pissed off Chouji, most likely using himself as a barricade to prevent the insulted portly young genin from the irrational smart-mouthed one.

Zaku snorted completely unfazed by Kiba's threatening demeanor. Whenever he got this way it was hard to get him to back down. Even with the mangled mess his arms are in, Zaku would be ready to fight if need be. I have to fix this before it gets out of hand.

"Weren't you supposed to be shopping with Dosu today?" I inquired, perhaps bringing Dosu's name into things will defuse the situation a little bit. "He said that you guys were supposed to be shopping for things for the house."

"Naw, I decided not to go." He responded matter-of-factly.

"Please Zaku, can you leave." I pleaded, very unlike me me. However this night was very import to me. I can't, no, I won't let him ruin this.

"What, why? I have every right to be here just as much as all of you." He argued. I looked down to my almost empty plate embarrassed by the way Zaku was acting. At this rate, they'll never accept my offer of friendship.

"Fine, if you want to be here you can." Ino grabbed my wrist as she spoke. "WE will be taking our leave. Come on guys."

Kiba and the others sat the respective amounts of money for their meals on the table and headed towards the door. Ino still dragged me behind her grumbling under her breath; the words 'stupid' and 'asshole' being the only ones I could pick up. I looked at Zaku as we passed by him, feeling a little sorry for allowing the others to scold him. But before I had any chance, if I wanted to, to say anything, I felt I rough tug on my left arm as I watched Ino falling face first to the floor, in slow motion. I grunted as I felt the impact of not only Ino's elbow colliding with my face, but Naruto and Sakura accidentally stepping on my hair and fingers as they tried to help the both of us up.

"Oops," Zaku sniggered with a sarcastic undertone. "My bad I didn't know my foot was in the way."

"You did that on purpose, you jerk!" Sakura roared. She placed both hands on her hip and stood firmly in front of Zaku. He only laughed at how un-threatening she probably looked, standing an entire head shorter than he, and pink hair to boot, she didn't have an intimidating bone in her body from the looks of it.

"Prove it." He whispered close to her face, but yet loud enough for us to hear. When Sakura didn't say anything, Zaku laughed in triumph. "That's what I thought."

Zaku was showing such a distasteful side to himself. And frankly, I'm embarrassed of it. As I sat on my knees on the floor my eyes shifted from each person, each had a different expression of rage or disgust on their faces.

Sasuke trotted from his location near Shino and and Shikamaru and stopped in front of Zaku, mostly likely feeling that it was his turn to confront him. But rather than using words, Sasuke roughly shoved Zaku backwards from his shoulders. Zaku cringed as if Sasuke punched him in the stomach and fell down to one knee, breathing heavily. Seeing Sasuke rough handle Zaku set something off within me and I immediately crawled to Zaku's side and caressed his back in attempt to soothe the pain. I know how the slightest touch to Zaku's arms could cause him immense pain, but after what Sasuke did, I can't imagine the amount of pain he must be in right now.

"Sasuke, you can't do that!" I scolded. Zaku may be the biggest asshole on the planet but he's still my best friend, and touching his arms with the intention of hurting him is unacceptable. "His arms are badly damaged as you know. Don't rough handle him!"

"But he was picking a fight when he came in here and called me fat!" Chouji fumed glaring daggers at Zaku's collapsed form.

"He is right." Shino spoke coolly using his index finger to push his glasses up his nose, "his remarks were the reason this upheaval began in the first place."

Smacking my lips, I ignored their comments and continued to rub Zaku's back. "I don't care what he did, don't touch his arms." I reiterated.

"I-I'm fine.." Zaku said breathlessly, "g-get off of m-e." He tried to elbow me away, but I would have none of it, I kept my place next to him.

"...we're going to go home." I said solemnly. I gave a glance to Kiba, who was looking away from me. My heartaches right now, but I have to get Zaku home so he can rest. "Thanks for the dinner, Kiba. I had fun." I smiled.

"Yeah, sure." He placed his hands in his pockets and sidestepped in the corner to allow Zaku and I to get to the door.

I gave Kiba one last glance and stepped out into the warm late evening air of Konoha. Zaku was silent as we walked together to our apartment, my arm around his waist struggling but faring well enough to carry his weight. I sighed in attempt to relieve some of the stress I was feeling. Today was going so well, and in a few minutes it was ruined. My biggest worry was what they must think of me for yelling at Sasuke even though he was only trying to help.

"...uh." Zaku began. "I'm not gonna apologize or anything but.."

"It's okay Zaku. Maybe I shouldn't have tried to rush things with them in the first place." I said kicking dirt, "I should try to make my friendship with you and Dosu stronger before I try to make friends with others."

"No, you don't have to do that." Zaku insisted. He finally lifted his weight off of me began to walk on his own. I looked at him, it seemed as if the worst of the pain had passed. "I won't bother you again, I was only being an ass to get let them know that I'm not about to hide away from them 'cause they fucked my arms up."

I chuckled and shook my head in disbelief good heartedly. We arrived at our apartment complex and headed to our floor via the stairs. Once we got in front of our door, I remembered something crucial, "oh shoot, I don't have the key." I said absentmindly patting my pocketless dress as if I would find it.

"I do. Dosu got each of us a key to the house while we.. Er, he was out."

"So you guys DID go shopping today. You lied!" I said playfully

Zaku groaned, "you made me seem like a pansy little bitch. I had to say something."

"Well give me my key then." I jested holding my left palm out in front of him.

"It's in my back pocket. You know, that's the real reason I went to the restaurant. To give you your key." Zaku laughed quietly as if afraid to wake the neighbors "I just couldn't help myself."

"Are you serious?! You ruined everything tonight!" I shouted flailing my arms in the air. "And everything was going so perfectly too." I huffed and pouted and turned my back to him.

"Aww, were you going to have sex with him later?" Zaku teased in a baby voice.

I blushed at Zaku's comment, "n-no..? NO! Of course not, I just met him today you pervert! Who the hell do you think I am?" I growled and forcefully shoved my hands in both of Zaku's back pockets to retrieve my key and his as well.

After getting the keys, I quickly put one in the keyhole and opened the door slightly. I slid in through the small entrance and closed the door before Zaku could get in and locked it behind me.

"Hey! Open the door Kin!" I heard his muffled cries, "this isn't funny. Dammit!"

I laughed evilly, feeling quite satisfied with myself "serves you right!" I yelled at the door. I turned around and headed for my bedroom to get ready for bed early.

"Hey Dosu." I said walking past him, noticing him reading a different book than this morning. "I'm headed to bed early. Night"

"Alright, good night." He said without looking up from his book. I know Dosu knows that Zaku is out there but I'm pretty sure he won't let him in until he's finished reading.

"Good." I said to no one, I smirked after closing my own door muffling Zaku's demands to be let in even further. "That'll teach him to rub me the wrong way."


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning I woke up as the sun rose, looking over to my clock I saw that it was 6:39. "Perfect." I thought. "Now I have more than enough time for myself before meeting up with the others."

Stretching a little, I got out of bed and took care of my daily hygienic needs and opened the sliding door to see no one in the living room. "Hmm, Dosu must still be sleeping." I said aloud

"... I am in the kitchen." A disembodied voice corrected. I followed the voice and saw Dosu carefully putting some rice in the cooker then turning it on. I looked him over, this is the first time that I have seen Dosu wearing something other than his usual attire. Unfortunately he was still wearing the bandages on his face, but his clothing consisted of navy blue sweat pants with a black loose fitting shirt, and white socks. I assumed this was his sleepwear. "Are you going out?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah." I responded shrugging my shoulders. "Zaku caused a lot of trouble yesterday evening and I want to fix it somehow."

"I see." Dosu nodded, "was that the reason you locked him out?"

"Yeah, but that was nowhere near what I wanted to do." I joked. Dosu simply nodded his head again and went to the fridge. I stayed quiet while he rummaged through the contents that were still unknown to me. He pulled out a small fish and sat it on a mat on the counter.

"Are you hungry, Kin?" He changed the subject.

"No, I'm not. Thanks for asking." I lied. I'm actually starving right now, I haven't eaten since yesterday evening and even then I didn't finish my food. "I'm going to go out to eat later actually."

"Well, we had money left over from yesterday in case you need some." He suggested. That was very considerate of him to offer. Ever since we came to the village Dosu has been really kind. "It's hidden in the bookcase, a place Zaku will never look. Ensure that you do not reveal it's location to him."

I chuckled, "alright, I won't. Thanks."

I took just enough money to buy myself some new clothing, of which I desperately needed, and hoped I had enough to do something with Kiba as my apology to him. I didn't want to take too much as we only got a certain amount each month and it was only the beginning of this month.

Back in my room, I decided to wear my old shirt along with the pants I bought yesterday, I know it didn't look good but it was all I had. My shirt smelled really good, so I assumed that someone washed my clothing for me while I was gone. It was most likely Dosu because Zaku isn't kind enough to do that.

"See you later Dosu," I said passing his seated form at the table in the living room with his breakfast of grilled fish and rice. "I'm leaving now." I put my shoes on at the door and walked out, closing it behind me, though not before giving Dosu a slight wave to which he responded with a single nod.

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I realized within the hour of shopping that I have done so far, why it was so fun. Searching through the endless selections of clothing for the perfect ensemble proved to be more entertaining than I originally thought, especially now since I was the only costumer in this early hour.

"Oh, hey you." A voice said from behind me. "Doing a little shopping, eh?"

I quickly turned around pushing my cart full of clothing to the next aisle. "Uh yeah, just a little."

It was Ino, she was smiling at me as if we had been friends forever. She had been doing a little shopping on her own, in this store at least, she had a few garments hanging on her arm along with four large bags with different logos on each one.

"Do you usually go shopping this early?" I asked to make conversation.

"Yup, it's my favorite thing to do."

"Oh, okay well.." I wasn't sure what to say to her, I was ashamed of both my behavior and Zaku's last night. I wasn't prepared to face anyone this early in the morning.

"Why so shy? Is it about last night?" She said putting a hand on hip, "if that's the reason then you shouldn't be acting that way. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

I looked at her. She had a very genuine and sincere smile on her face, I smiled myself not feeling so weird anymore.

"Now that the air is cleared. Let's see what you've picked out." She said smirking and rubbing her hands together.

"N-no!" I rushed to my cart and rolled it out of her reach.

"Come on Please let me see." She whined puckering her bottom lip out and lacing her fingers together.

"Ino.."I started, but the breath in my body was knocked out as Ino pushed me aside to get to my clothes.

"Hmm." She said holding each piece of clothing in the air, thoroughly examining each one. "Your color choice is odd, but you do have some good taste." Ino rolled the cart behind her and intently stared at me as she rubbed her chin. "The colors that'll look best on you are pastels. It'll bring out your eyes and creme colored complexion better."

I stared at her in disbelief. Pastels, huh? I've been going about this shopping thing all wrong then. I looked past her at the cart full of oranges and yellows, those must look terrible then. I sighed, now I have to do this all over again. But at least Ino is here to help.

"Hey Ino, can you help me pick some things out?" I asked shyly

Ino laughed, "what do you think these are for?" She gestured to the bags and clothes on her arms. "Believe it or not, Kiba gave me some money to go shopping for you." My heart raced at the mention of his name. He did that for me? He doesn't even know me that well.

Ino startled me out of my thoughts when I noticed her closeness. "I think he likes you."

"R-really.. You think so?" I blushed, this is the first time a boy has ever liked me. "What makes you say that" I pried.

"Kiba is never is nice to anyone. He's a jerk just like your friend.. No offense." Ino said waving her hand in front if her face.

"Maybe he just pities me. I mean, I did tell him I had no money and what happened to me." I said feeling skeptical now. Kiba was being overly nice, but perhaps that is because he feels sorry and wants me to feel welcome or something.

"Come on Kin. Give yourself some credit." She said patting me on the back. "You're pretty. Anyone can like you."

I smiled at the compliment. It made me feel really good, especially coming form someone like Ino, who was probably told how pretty she was on a daily basis.

"Thanks."

"No problem, now lets find you something a little... better." She said picking up a bright orange shirt with her index finger and her thumb as if it was dirty.

"Okay." I smiled

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**Yeah I know it was short, but I wanted to have a chapter where Kin was acting like a girl for once. So here it is.**

**Thanks for reading and hopefully leaving a review. See ya later!**


	7. Chapter 7

I was in Ino's room trying on the clothes Kiba bought for me. "That looks good on you, Kin." She said looking at me holding the fingers of both her hands together like a picture frame. I smiled at myself in the full length mirror, I picked this one out myself from the selection Ino picked out. It was simple and modest just the way I liked my clothes. I wore an overly large light blue sweater and a navy blue skirt.

"I think Kiba is gonna love it," Ino teased, she walked behind me a fiddled with my hair. "Now we need to do something with this."

"No, you can't cut my hair!" I blurted. I take great pride in my hair. I may have insulted Sakura over hers but I was only trying to be tough.

"No silly, I mean style it up a little bit." She responded

"Oh alright then."

After two long hours of sitting completely still on the edge of Ino's bed, I looked in the mirror to see her work. My hair looked like the exact copy of hers before she cut it during her match with Sakura. To be honest I didn't like it one bit. But considering what she has done for me today, I'll let her think I love it.

"I looks great Ino!" I feigned a smile that hopefully looked realistic.

"I know, you don't have to tell me twice." Ino bragged.

I rolled my eyes while her back was turned and gathered my new clothing, "I'm going to go find Kiba to thank him for my stuff. I'll see you later."

Ino was clearing her bed of the hair supplies, "oh okay, see ya." She said without stopping her task.

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I managed to find Kiba playing ball with Akamaru in the park he took me to when we first met. I debated whether or not I should bring up what happened yesterday. Ino didn't mind so maybe Kiba wouldn't either. Or maybe he did mind, which was the reason for the look on his face when I left and he was expecting an apology.

I took a deep breath and counted slowly to ten before approaching him.

"Hey Kiba." I yelled loud enough for him to hear and quiet enough to not disturb the surrounding people.

"Hey Kin." He smiled, and threw the ball before meeting me. "I see Ino got the clothes for you." He looked me over. "They look good."

I blushed. "Thanks for the compliment... And um, everything else. I really appreciate it."

I looked at my dirtied new shoes when Kiba didn't reply to my thanks. I suddenly felt as if the entire park was staring at me right now.

"... Well you said that you didn't have any money. And my mom and sis sorta forced me to..." He trailed off. I looked at him as he was looking somewhere off to the right. The air was getting really awkward, it was becoming difficult to breath. "I wasn't getting into your business or anything, and I didn't tell them anything other than that. I swear"

The realization hit me once he said that. He probably thinks that I am upset at him for telling his family about me. "Kiba, I'm not upset if that's what you believe." The tension disappeared almost as quickly as it came. I stepped to my left and put my face into Kiba's view. "I'm not upset." I repeated.

"Oh alright," he sighed in relief. "Usually girls don't like having their personal information put out on display like that so I figured-"

"Nope, I'm not like other girls obviously Kiba." I interrupted smiling.

An erratic squeaking noise could be heard getting closer and closer as Kiba and I talked. Kiba turned and knelt down as Akamaru came trotting towards him with an orange ball in his mouth.

"Good job buddy!" Kiba said patting Akamaru on the head and gently taking the ball from him. "Look who's here." He pointed behind him. Akamaru walked over and barked. He stood in his hind legs to greet me, wagging his small tail wildly.

"Hey puppy." I bent down to Akamaru's level and allowed him to lick my face before picking him up and cradling him like a baby in my arms. Kiba stood up as well and patted Akamaru once more on his belly.

Now's a good time as ever, I need to apologize to Kiba. "Kiba, about yesterday night.. I-"

"It alright," he acknowledged, "you teammates are important to you. Perfectly understandable."

"Thanks Kiba."

"Sure. You up for some ice cream?" He smiled

"Yup I'm buying."

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It has been one month since Dosu, Zaku, and I came to the Konoha. The village was bustling with civilians from foreign countries here to watch the most anticipated Chuunin Exams in eight years.

"You excited to watch the final matches tomorrow, Kin?" Kiba asked. He and I were walking through the busy streets heading towards the Hokage's office for something he labeled as 'very important.'

"Well of course I am." I responded sarcastically, "what could be more exciting than being reminded of my embarrassing defeat."

Kiba scoffed, "embarrassing for you? Please, you didn't know Naruto in the academy. He had worse grades than I did. And he failed three times!"

I laughed and folded my hands behind my back. We walked in a comfortable silence to our destination.

"Want me to wait out here for ya?" Kiba asked

"Sure. But if it takes longer than thirty minutes you can leave if you want."

Kiba simply chuckled a response and unceremoniously sat in the ground where he stood. I rolled my eyes and jokingly patted him on the head as I went passed him. Kiba and I have gotten really close since I came to the village. He has been so nice to me and he stood up for me when I was bein bombarded by his friends. I wonder if Ino,s words were true. Does Kiba really have a crush on me, or is this just one of Ino's crazy delusions Sakura says she has. Even if what she says is true, do I like him back?

"Took you long enough." Zaku greeted. Zaku, Dosu, and I have also gotten really close since we came to the village. We look out for each other a lot more often than we did and Dosu and I make sure Zaku's needs are taken care of a lot more often as well.

"Sorry."

"The Hokage is waiting for us, we were called in over two minutes ago." Dosu chided. He sounded upset, but luckily for me he doesn't show it as much anymore.

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"It is good to see you all again." The Hokage addressed as he placed his pipe on his desk. "You all have shown dramatic improvement in your behavior within the past month."

Was this all the surprise meeting would consist of? Him complimenting our behavior? He could have done this anytime rather than wasting his time for such a trivial meet up.

"As you knew, I had ANBU surveilling you until we believed you could be trusted. As of yesterday, the council and myself have deemed you worthy of our trust." The Hokage smiled.

My heart raced. He trusts us now? Not only did that take no time at all but now we don't have to worry about having someone watching us from the shadows 24/7. What could this mean?

"To prove our mutual trust among each other, as Hokage, I hereby appoint you three official Konoha shinobi. Congratulations." The Hokage reached underneath his his desk and pulled out three containers, "here are your forehead protectors. Wear them where you like, but wear them with pride."

Tears welled in my eyes. It's official now, we were Konoha shinobi! I can't wait to show it off to the world, this is a dream come true.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" I shouted and hugged the Hokage. He grunted in what I assumed as pain, so I let go and apologized. I gave Dosu and Zaku the biggest smile of my life, they looked at me and gave a small smile, Although they didn't react the same way I did, I knew they were just s happy.

"You're welcome." The Hokage gave each of us our new headbands and dismissed us from his office. "Oh one more thing." We stopped in our tread out the door to give the Hokage our attention. "As Konoha shinobi, you will be allowed to accept missions. Meaning that the missions you accept, IF completed efficiently, will be your source of income."

"So, no more money will be given to us from the village, right?" Zaku finished.

"That is correct." The Hokage smiled and put his pipe back into his mouth. "Congratulations again."

Dosu closed the the door to the Hokage's office and we stood there in silence. I grabbed Dosu and Zaku and pulled them in for a group hug, squealing with glee.

"Ow, fuck Kin!" Zaku yelled and forced me away.

"We should celebrate tonight. You know, eat at a fancy restaurant!" I offered.

"Yeah sure whatever." Zaku responded walking away.

"Very well." Dosu said walking away as well.

I smiled and looked at my new headband. Where should I put it? Sakura wears hers on her head, Hinata wears hers around her neck, Lee around his waist, and Shikamaru around his arm. Wearing it on my forehead is too boring, then again I want everyone to see it. Well, in that case, forehead it is!

I tied my forehead protect around my forehead making sure I didn't ruin my ponytail. I decided to keep the hairstyle Ino gave me, well not without a few alterations. The bangs weren't really doing it for me. I walked out of the Hokage mansion and saw Kiba still sitting in the place he was before.

"Hey Kiba." I said as melancholy as I could.

"Is something wrong Kin" the worry was evident on his face. I guess he was to worried about me to notice my new head piece.

"Yeah, you wouldn't believe what the Hokage said to us." I pouted and dramatically turned away from him.

"What'd he say Kin? Tell me!" He shook my shoulders from behind. Time to make the big reveal.

"He said that I'm a Konoha shinobi now!" I squealed.

"Wha?" Kiba questioned, confusing etched in his features. "Oh, Congratulations!" He finally realized.

"Thanks!" My excitement was so uncontainable I pulled Kiba in for a hug as well. We hugged for a few seconds before I realized my mistake.

"Oh, um. Sorry, I'm just so happy." I said twiddling my fingers, an unfortunate habit I picked up from Hinata.

"Uh, no. It's okay. I'm happy for you." He said scathing the back of his head. Kiba cleared his throat, "so anyway. We should celebrate. How does dinner sound?"

"Actually I was planning on celebrating with Dosu and Zaku tonight."

"That's fine." Kiba said wrapping his arm around my shoulders and guiding me away from the mansion, "we need to all get to know each other anyway. I mean we ARE comrades, right?"

"That's true." I smiled.

Yeah, that is true. We are comrades now.


	8. Chapter 8

Zaku, Dosu, and I were on our way to a barbecue restaurant per Chouji's request. It was a quiet and beautiful night, I looked up at the starry sky a took a deep inhale.

"Tonight is beautiful isn't it?" I asked my two friends

"No not really," Zaku responded. I I turned a gave him a menacing glare to show my disapproval for his comment. "And I'm definitely not looking forward to this."

I had a feeling Zaku wasn't going to enjoy himself the way I planned to. He was upset when I told him that the others were celebrating with us as well. He wasn't on the best terms with our new Konoha comrades. He hated Sasuke for ruining his arms, he hated Shino ruining them further, and he hated everyone else just because. Dosu however didn't care either way. He had nothing personal against them, he'd just rather be at home reading than eating at some reastaurant.

"Come on Zaku. It'll be fun." I patted him on the back, "just try to enjoy yourself."

"Whatever. Don't touch me." He shrugged me off and walked ahead of Dosu and me. I sighed and switched my attention to the boy next to me.

"Just know, if there is any trouble caused. I'm leaving." He said before I had a chance to speak. "I have a headache and I don't feel like being bothered with anymore nonsense than I already am."

"Don't worry Dosu no trouble will be caused." I reached my hand to pat his back as well, this would be my only opportunity because he isn't wearing that straw raincoat he always dons, unfortunately he stepped out of my reach and walked ahead of me. I sighed again and shook my head in disbelief.

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"Hello, we have reservations with twelve others." I said standing on the tips of my toes. The counter was very high and I wasn't able to get a clear view of the woman who sat behind it.

"Ahh yes," the glasses wearing woman responded after a few minutes of looking through the book in front of her. "You're the biggest party of the night." She smiled. "Follow me this way."

The woman stood from her perch and guided us to the back of the restaurant, "your table is just straight ahead." She pointed to the loud table of eleven. Minus Sasuke, "I hope you enjoy yourselves."

We thanked the woman and made our way to the table.

"Hey, there's Kin!" Naruto pointed our way. "Come on Kin we're over here!"

"Obviously." Zaku sighed.

"Shh, be nice." I whispered.

We walked to the table and took the only seats left. The seating arrangements must of been planned considering the three of us sat together with Kiba on my left, Dosu sat to my right, followed by Zaku and finally Hinata; the quietest girl in the group, no one could possibly start any trouble with her. She was perfect for Zaku to sit next to.

"Hey guys." I greeted.

"Hey." Chouji replied stuffing pieces of complimentary pork in his mouth

"Congratulations on your becoming a Konoha shinobi." Shino spoke from the furthest edge of the table.

"Thanks. Did you guys order yet?" I asked.

"No, not yet. We were waiting for you." Ino said. She picked up the menu in front of her and flipped to the end of it. "Hmm what salad to get"

"Congratulations again Kin." Kiba whispered to me.

"Thanks again Kiba." I joked. Kiba picked up his menu and shared it with me

"So what do you want?"

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"Am I the only one who's excited for the final phase?!" Naruto spit food out across the table as he spoke. "I'm gonna kick Neji's ass because I was trained by pervy sage!"

"Pervy sage?" I questioned.

"Yeah, his name is actually Jiraiya, but he's a pervert so I call him pervy sage." Naruto explained. Jiraiya is a pervert? I guess that explains the way he looked at when we first met.

"That's great to hear Naruto." I smiled

"Whatever about that. Tell us about yourselves." Ino changed the subject. She put her left hand in her chin and smiled.

"What's there to say?" Zaku responded, "there isn't anything interesting about us."

"Well I don't know, since you're our new comrades we should know everything about you." Ino folded her hands in front of her. "Even if it isn't interesting."

I looked at Ino hoping to find what she was up to in her features. It isn't like her to act so devious, or maybe it is but she's been hiding it from me.

"Ino, now isn't the time nor place." I interjected. I myself was curious about what Zaku or Dosu may say, but those types of things could be told in the privacy of our home.

"Speaking of which, we don't know much about you either Kin." Ino smiled. What was she doing? Weren't we friends?

"Ino, what are you doing?" Kiba asked

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm trying to expose her! She and her lame friends are hiding something, I just know it!"

"Hey hey calm down. You're disturbing the other patrons." Shikamaru interceded

"No! I'm getting back at her for getting Sasuke-kun's attention! Then she had the nerve to yell at him when he was only trying to help!" Ino pointed an accusing finger at me. She rose from her chair and got closer to my face. She squinted her eyes in anger and clenched her jaw. "Sasuke-kun has never stood up for me or anyone else that for that matter. And then here you come with your sob story getting everyone, especially Kiba to kiss your ass!"

I gasped at her words. Ino never would have struck me as the jealous type. She seems so confident in herself, and she seemed to not let anything bring her down. I knew she had a crush on Sasuke, but I didn't know that it was this obsessive.

"What? Ino, I don't have feelings for Sasuke." I assured

"That isn't what this is about you bitch!" Ino screamed pulling at her short hair. "I've been trying to get Sasuke's attention for years, and you get it in one day!"

Everyone was silent as they watched Ino yell at me. Even Kiba had nothing to say about he matter. The only way to remove this is to play her game. I'll tell her everything.

"Fine, I'll tell you everything about me." I folded my arms across my chest, "you'd better sit down because it's a long story."


End file.
